it's tough to be a god

(why yes, i WAS singing that song from 'the road to el dorado' the whole time i worked on this. you couldn't possibly tell!)

yet another one of the weekly art projects, done in pen and india ink on 20"x30" watercolour paper (the image above was cropped). it's the guy from the previous deviation, that mysterious avatar man. the sleeper! oooooer. let's see if i can explain some of his backstory here...

he was raised from a very young age anticipating the chance that he might some day go on to fulfill this role; the position of avatar is not hereditary and there are always several suitable candidates waiting in the wings. as soon as the previous one dies, a new one is selected. when the avatar preceding the sleeper (i have noooo idea what his name might have been) finally kicked the bucket, he was, oddly enough, the ONLY candidate to even show up at the palace. practically unheard of! therefore he seems to have won the position by default.

the avatars have a tendency to be predominantly female, since the deity they're representing is usually believed to be a goddess, although male avatars are no less valued or respected. what was mildly troubling about the sleeper being chosen was the fact that the last male avatar had lived about four centuries before him. male avatars really Did Not Happen Often Anymore. was this an omen of troubled times ahead? a sign from the goddess herself? or was it just chance?

the sleeper both enjoyed his position and found it irritating. since the avatar was mainly a ceremonial position, he did not actually rule anything; he coexisted alongside the royal family, with his own servants and duties. he wasn't expected to do very much in the way of making decisions or contributing to discussions, try as he might; just being present at every function imaginable was more than enough to assure the people that yes, all is well in the pantheon. he wasn't traditionally allowed to use his own hands in public, either (as an example), which really got on his nerves at first. he learned to deal. and he learned how to limit his attempts at interrupting important conversations. basically he just chilled out. ...he still got annoyed at being treated so delicately, though.

he did like his position for the chance it gave him to give hope and strength to his people, so he would not have traded it for anything. except maybe the permitted use of his own hands.

after a few weeks or months as the avatar, it's usual for the chosen person to become completely mute; no one can explain how this happens, but it happens. the sleeper lost his voice, as expected, but that didn't keep him from... vehement gestures at the dinner table? XD

the sleeper was the last avatar for his culture, and remains so to this day; he was appointed to the position at age sixteen and kept it until he was nearly twenty. that was when he fell into a deep sleep, after being unable to even doze off for about a month, and slept continuously for the next six centuries. he was put in a safe place shortly before his people were somehow completely wiped off the map. they faded into obscurity while he lived on in legends as the Sleeper, known to so many who'd never even heard of his goddess.

he eventually does wake up again and... somehow lands in our version of the world. chaos doesn't quite ensue so much as lurk and peek at people from behind corners.

the sleeper and... allllllllllll that crap you may or may not have just read, is the intellectual property of ajm. please to be respecting. thank you~

edity: forgot to mention that he also made an appearance in this deviation [link] ...oh geez i can remember the older art of him now. holy cow. XD